Cooper Kupp assures everyone he has a good arm after ugly throw

Cooper Kupp makes a living in the NFL catching footballs, not throwing them. The Rams have a very capable guy to handle the latter in Jared Goff, who’s had a great deal of success targeting Kupp in the passing game.

The rookie wideout got a chance to play the role of quarterback on Sunday against the Saints, but his throw was, well, off the mark. Sean McVay called a double-pass trick play from Goff to Pharoh Cooper, who then lateralled it to Kupp.

With Sammy Watkins streaking deep and Tavon Austin coming across the middle, Kupp had two options. He hit neither as the pass fell incomplete, but he defended himself this week, assuring everyone that his ugly throw was intentional.

At Eastern Washington, Kupp completed 7 of 10 passes for 180 yards and four touchdowns. He showed throughout his college career that he does have a good arm, but it didn’t show on Sunday.

Here was Kupp’s full explanation of the play, which makes a lot of sense.

“Right before the play started, the safety is flying over the top,” Kupp said. “Go look at the film. The safety’s like, ‘Oh, crap, we’re outnumbered over here.’ The safety comes over the top, right? So that means that as I’m getting the ball, Sammy’s gotta beat his guy, and now there’s a safety over the top. So now my primary read is gone.

“I know Tavon is coming across the field, right? But as I find him, he’s got someone tight behind him, and the corner is now falling off Sammy. So if I throw it to him, Tavon’s getting smacked. So I start sliding to my right, I’m feeling pressure on the backside, and I’m like, ‘I have nowhere to go with this ball. There’s nobody in front of me.’ So I just threw it right at the feet of Tavon.”

Kupp made a good decision with the ball, considering nothing was open. McVay credited the rookie for making a smart play after there was nowhere to go with the football, defending Kupp’s arm, as well.

“Well, it didn’t work out too well last week. I think there was some inside pressure, but he’s got a good arm,” McVay said. “He threw it a lot in college and what he did there was a smart throw-away. That was actually a throw-away, that was good coverage by the Saints, so he was digging at his feet, but not running the risk of getting any sort of penalty right there. He’s got a great arm.”

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